Herbert Thompson, Contributor
Even the Church is in need of effective leadership. - photo by George Henry
It was the French general Napoleon Bonaparte who once said, "A leader is a dealer in hope". I am convinced that the problems which we face in Jamaica are not insurmountable.
I feel that what we lack is effective leadership at several levels of the society. Talk to many people in this country and they will tell you that they have no plans to run from here to seek refuge in any foreign country. Others will get specific and declare that they have no plans to repeat the errors of the '70s, when thousands ran away, leaving the good life and their fortunes to become peasants and servants in the United States and other countries. Many were prepared to remain, fight and fix.
Politicians are only people
Those who feel that it is only the political leaders who need to be vigilant, effective and aware had better wake up.
The leadership needs of Jamaica exist in politics, the police force, the Church, the educational system, the home, in corporate Jamaica and in several other sectors of the society.
This fixation on political leadership and on politicians has the effect of vilifying and deifying these people at the same time.
It is 'we the people' who give politicians legitimacy through our votes, and we must stop making them feel they are totally in control of everything that moves in this country. Politicians are not gods, and we need to treat them as part of the equation for national survival, not as our only source of strength.
Democracy is not working if we have to call upon the elected representative for everything that is to be done in any community. It is that woeful blunder which has
contributed to our downfall since independence.
One of the evidences of a vibrant democracy is the extent to which structures of governance and civil order remain intact following changes at the poll. We are a nation of Christians. There is one Divine God. We do not worship politicians! If we are able to treat these human beings as our partners in the rebuilding process, we are likely to succeed.
It is worthy of note that Nehemiah (of the Bible) did not return to Jerusalem to get elected so that he could begin to do the work. The thousands of hopeless, hapless sufferers longed for guidance from one of their committed sons.
It is also to be noted that there was no lengthy debate over what the project was going to be. Community persons should take this point very seriously. And every community in Jamaica needs to have a few committed leaders who are not tainted with criminality and who do not behave like special gifts from heaven.
Excerpted from 'Jamaica: Rebuilding the Walls' by
Dr. Herbert Thompson.
Dr. Thompson is president of
the Northern Caribbean University.
